Various service trays and plates in the art have attempted to provide means for supporting food and beverages manually, especially in situations such as cocktail parties and picnics wherein the consumer often stands and moves about while eating and drinking. U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,396 to Harper, for example, discloses a simple plate having partitions for separating various foods and an area adjacent a thumb hole in which a beverage container of the stem type is placed, the flat base of the beverage container being gripped between the plate surface and the user's thumb. Such an arrangement has disadvantages, including that containers other than the stem type, such as simple paper cups, cannot be used because the user's thumb cannot be positioned so as to grip the cup, and the thumb in such a situation would not provide the stability needed to prevent upset of the plate surface and its contents. The Harper plate also has the disadvantage of not providing for the inclusion of means for holding accessories normally needed, such as napkins, utensils, toothpicks and the like. Furthermore, by requiring the user to physically contact the beverage container to provide the necessary stabilization of the container, the Harper device requires the user to contact surfaces whose high or low temperatures may cause discomfort or injury to the user.
Other examples of support devices in the art are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,603 to Holz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,685 to French; U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,331 to Task; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,297 to Doty. Each device disclosed in those patents has disadvantages which are overcome by the present invention. For example, the Holz reference includes a rigid base having recesses into which several removable containers are inserted. The need for several containers makes construction of the device complicated and expensive and the lack of means for holding napkins, utensils, toothpicks and the like is disadvantageous. Similar disadvantages are found in the other cited references.
Another disadvantage of devices in the art which include holders for a beverage container is that the user must apply manual or digital pressure to the beverage container in order to stabilize it. This is awkward and stability of the container is not assured. Additionally, as pointed out above, such devices may result in discomfort or injury to the user when the beverage in the container is very cold or very hot.
Devices known in the art that include apertures for insertion of the users thumb or other fingers have yet another disadvantage. By disposing such apertures at or near the peripheral edge of the plate, the stability of the plate containing food and beverage depends on the rigidity of the plate. This is also true for plates which do not include an aperture for the thumb. By contrast, the aperture of the present invention is placed so as to enable the user to support the plate by applying the palm and fingers of the hand to the underside of the plate. The stabilization of the plate and its contents is therefore enhanced.